I Am a Ruined Noble of a Ruined Kingdom

Chapter 10: Social Debut (2)

A few weeks had passed since that day I wanted to flick her forehead.

These days, the Ruined Noble's mansion was a flurry of activity. Actually, to be precise, only Iruealfi and I were busy.

We were attending to our respective tasks in a large room. On Iruealfi's desk, a mountain of documents displayed its majestic presence. She would often glance at me during her work, seemingly with pity, before averting her gaze.

I roughly knew the reason for her cold stare.

Creak, creak.

"Kyaaak!? Why, why are you doing this? These sounds shouldn't be coming from Marquis Alteon's pelvis...!"

The woman holding my hand was in shock. She was Emma, a Baron's daughter hired as a maid. Emma was helping me practice dancing at my request.

Screeeeeech!

Suddenly, the shoes scraped harshly, and I ended up rolling on the floor. It was a major disaster that occurred during the turning part of the dance.

"Marquis Alteon! Are you alright?"

"Ahem, I'm fine."

I felt a thrilling pain stretching from my lumbar vertebrae to my cervical vertebrae, but I endured it well.

"It's because I didn't teach you well enough!"

"Surely not, it's mostly my fault. Of course."

In reality, Emma boasted considerable expertise in dancing. Iruealfi recognized this, which was why Emma was here.

But Emma did her best to belittle herself.

"I'm not qualified to teach anyone. Someone like me is only fit for menial tasks!"

"That's not true, Emma. Let's work hard towards our common goal. Fighting!"

I didn't give up and offered my hand to Emma. Making eye contact with Emma, I could feel the other person's feelings.

'Have I fallen into infinite hell...? How long do I have to repeat this time?'

Emma must be thinking something like that. But I had no intention of letting her off. Since I don't usually give her work, I didn't feel indebted to her.

"Okay, okay, one-two. One-two. Eu-geueuk."

Creak, creak.

'Is it inevitable that Netionpies's body makes noises when dancing?'

From a body that can't die even if it wants to, the sound of a rusty machine barely turning could be heard. It was truly a mysterious thing.

It must be because Iruealfi had severed my pelvis. I glared at Iruealfi, who was working, for no reason.

In the meantime, I accidentally stepped on Emma's foot.

"Hwaaaaaang! Marquis, I was wrong. Did you not like me usually? If so, I will correct it, so please forgive me..."

"Isn't that a bit much to say!?"

I asked back in disbelief. Emma couldn't answer and only sobbed.

Iruealfi, who couldn't bear to watch any longer, intervened with a deep sigh.

"Nephi is really bad at dancing. Frankly, your sense is catastrophic."

"It's none of your business! It's not like I'm that bad, am I?"

I didn't think I was that bad at it, which was strange. But Iruealfi and Emma stared at me with eyes that seemed to ask where my conscience had gone.

"Good work. There doesn't seem to be any further progress, so you can go now."

"Thank you, Marquis Yustiha! Thank you so much! Thank you!"

Emma expressed her gratitude to Iruealfi several times before running out like an arrow. I thought it was an overreaction for just some noise from the pelvis.

Wasn't the human body structure originally structured to make noise when dancing?

"Let's acknowledge one thing first. Nephi should never hold anyone's hand."

"That can't be true!"

"No, it's a solemn reality. There is no human in this world who can withstand Nephi's dance."

"No! That's not true..."

To me, who was desperately denying it, Iruealfi coughed dryly and approached. Then, making a face, she offered me her hand.

"Consider it luck. Know that the only woman on earth who can accept Nephi is standing before you."

"You can dance?"

"Didn't I say? I've already made my debutante. Of course, I know."

"Oh, right."

I kept forgetting that fact because I only ever saw Iruealfi in her conquest attire. She firmly grasped my hand and said solemnly.

"I can't correct Nephi's posture. But there is a way that only Nephi and I can do."

"Oh, is that true?"

"Yes."

For a moment, the corner of Iruealfi's mouth, which had been making a face, slightly lifted. I stared blankly at that figure for a moment. Now that I think about it, it was the first time I had seen Iruealfi's face this close.

Just as I was about to fall into sentimental thoughts, Iruealfi's body convulsed.

"I, Iruealfi?"

I called her in a voice full of embarrassment. Her next words were a sight to behold.

"With force, I will unilaterally lead from my side. It doesn't matter whether you match or not. I'll make you match."

"Ugh, euoooot!?"

That was my first dance with Iruealfi. The center of my body was led as if being teased by her, and my feet moved relentlessly, following her lead.

"It's a method possible because of Nephi's and my physical abilities. Especially Nephi can play around as much as you want even if your joints are twisted by my strength. So please do not accept dance requests from women other than me at the banquet."

"That's unfair!"

"It's not unfair at all."

Actually, I was a little excited. Netionpies's face, which had only given me a bad impression, was unexpectedly rated as handsome.

Of course, I had never heard anyone else's words except Charles... Charles was not the type to talk nonsense. Because she hates me.

So I was dreaming of a rosy future where I would receive quite a few dance requests, but all of that was in vain.

'I can't be happy even outside the Great Cavern...'

Iruealfi said something after seeing my serious expression.

"Hmph, consider it an honor. Because you are receiving the first and last dance that I officially dance."

"What? You made your debutante... Guooooot!?"

Just as I suddenly entered the rotation part, I bit my tongue. It healed quickly, but it hurt the moment I bit it.

"So many people should have given me their hand. Other young ladies couldn't even get attention, so I just went out to the terrace."

"You're really obnoxious, uaaaaak!"

It's strange, this shouldn't be the rotation part yet? Iruealfi had an innocent look as if something was wrong.

I must have misremembered it. It has to be.

"It was a debutante where I got a lot of criticism for having a bad personality. It was talked about like a legend for several years. As I joined the Knights and didn't go to banquets often, it gradually subsided."

"You're really rigid. You could just grab anyone and dance casually."

"Then it wouldn't be fair to the others. If I had done that, wouldn't the man who accepted my dance have been quite envied?"

"You... you...!"

Iruealfi's unique personality continued to come out no matter how much I peeled it away. I couldn't bring myself to speak and muttered inwardly.

'This girl is an absurd princess. Moreover, she knows her power, so she's even worse!'

Could she actually be enjoying nicknames like Moon Lake or White Sword Beauty? Iruealfi was so natural that I couldn't help but think that.

"I knew you had a confident personality... is this really Moon Lake?"

"Mueut!"

As soon as I finished speaking, I felt a strange sensation of floating in the air. Below, I could see Iruealfi's blushing cheeks. Soon, everything in my sight was spinning around.

'One... two... triple axel!?'

Landing on the ground, I was again led by Iruealfi's hand.

"Be quiet! Really, who came up with such a nickname..."

"Heoeo..."

I made a sound of admiration as I looked at Iruealfi, who was grumbling.

Now, Iruealfi was looking up at me from close range. Looking at her carefully, I felt like I understood something new.

Her fluttering white hair seemed to contain a subtle moonlight, and her jewel-like blue eyes were as clear as a lake. The moniker, which she herself didn't like, was plausible.

The dance, which included a lot of Iruealfi's personal feelings, soon came to an end. She was still radiant, while I was mentally exhausted.

"Just try your best on the day with this feeling."

"Are you going to do the triple axel that day too?"

"Triple... what is that? Anyway, you look decent enough. Just don't scream."

It was a very unreasonable reprimand, but the answer was already decided.

"... Okay."

Iruealfi seemed satisfied with my answer.

"Good. Then shall we go one more time, gentleman?"

"I really don't want to, lady."

"Do you have the right to refuse?"

"... No."

Meanwhile, a servant in a tailcoat was passing by the door.

When I desperately winked at him, the servant gave me a thumbs up. Then he quietly closed the door and left leisurely with a wink.

A cheerful humming was caught by my superhuman hearing. I didn't even want to know what that servant was thinking.

The abuse, which started under the pretense of helping me, finally ended after lunchtime. Iruealfi took a mountain of macarons that had been ordered in advance and voluntarily returned to the swamp of documents.

Really, she was a woman who deserved to be called the Iron Lady.

The next day, Iruealfi and I had to endure the subtle gazes of the servants. Of course, Iruealfi didn't even notice.

My days full of hardship passed very slowly. As I spent each day feeling nauseous, the day of the Fayta Duke's banquet was finally just around the corner.

◇

Iruealfi asked for confirmation.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm nervous... Haha."

I let out a dry laugh and looked out the carriage. As I looked at the surrounding scenery, I hoped that the Fayta Duke's mansion would appear as late as possible.

"Is that so? Well, you look quite plausible, maybe because you are a noble."

"I dressed up nicely."

Iruealfi was still wearing the same Nelphrugia Knights Commander's uniform as usual. It was a sleek fabric with a pattern that seemed to embroider the night sky on a pure white background. The silver-white ceremonial sword swayed over Iruealfi's shoulder.

On the other hand, I was wearing a suit made of black and gray, except for the shirt. The soft touch felt good every time I touched the surface.

"Nephi will probably receive a lot of attention."

"I guess so?"

"Basically, I'll leave the conversation to your improvisation, but if it seems ambiguous, wink at me."

"Okay, that's reassuring."

"And also... make sure to show off the dance we practiced especially for today."

Iruealfi said playfully. I confidently countered.

"It's enough as long as you don't make me do the triple axel."

"Triple... I don't know what that is, but I'll lead you well, so don't worry."

The conversation between Nephi and Iruealfi continued in a low voice. Many topics of conversation were exchanged, from people to watch out for to good and bad attitudes. In the meantime, the outside of the carriage gradually revealed the scenery of the Fayta Duke's mansion.

"Get off. ...No, please get off."

"Really..."

I got out of the carriage first and bent down to take Iruealfi's hand. Then I completely got out of the carriage and escorted her with my arm around her.

The moment she put her arm around me and leaned on me, goosebumps rose all over my body. The strongest monster in the world was leaning next to me.

I didn't know if I looked intimidated or confident. So I hypnotized myself.

'I am a stone. I am a tree. I am water.'

A man in a suit escorting a woman in a uniform would be a rare sight. The various impressions coming from the surroundings gave me confidence.

We headed towards the Duke's mansion's banquet hall. Two soldiers were acting as gatekeepers in front of the large door.

I took out the invitation from my pocket and showed it. The gatekeeper carefully checked the invitation and loudly announced.

"Marquis Iruealfi Yustiha and Marquis Nephi Alteon are entering!"

As the door opened, everyone in the hall turned their attention to us. Some people had interesting expressions, while others gave us envious looks. Most of the looks contained disbelief.

I was rather inspired and put on a straight face. I faced the unpleasant gazes head-on and maintained a relaxed smiling face.

Iruealfi whispered to me so that only I could hear.

"It looks good. Just do that."

"You're welcome."

Looking at the crowds surrounding us made me think of donuts. Those who were curious and wanted to see us surrounded us in a circle, but there was a space around us because they didn't actually come closer.

Since both Nephi and Iruealfi were not seen in social circles, it seemed difficult to talk to us rashly.

I was wondering what to do first. The crowd split in two and parted the way like the miracle of Moses. The person walking slowly from the open crowd was a middle-aged man.

"I am Troff Fayta. Thank you for accepting the invitation."

"You are Duke Fayta. I am Nephi Alteon, and this is Marquis Iruealfi Yustiha."

I looked up at Duke Fayta. His height, which was a hand taller than me, and his sturdy figure like a well-trained knight were noticeable.

Above all, what made him impressive was the eyepatch covering his right eye. Thanks to that, his sense of distance must be unclear, but his hand reaching out for a handshake was fearless.

"Heh heh, I hope... you have a pleasant banquet."

With those words, Duke Fayta headed to the platform. The people who were watching us were silently quiet, and the silence gave a feeling like the calm before the storm.

The banquet hall soon became lively again as if nothing had happened. Then Iruealfi asked me suddenly.

"Nephi? What's wrong?"

"Huh? Why?"

"Your expression... seems a bit dark."

At Iruealfi's words, my hand instinctively went to my cheek. It was as if I was trying to peel off the crumpled expression with my hand.

"It's nothing. Yeah... nothing's wrong."

I gave Iruealfi a slight smile. I emptied my dubious mind and put my arm around Iruealfi again.

The long night was just beginning.